Swamp Holly or Meadow Holly Tree
The Swamp, or Meadow Holly (Ilex decidua, Walt.) grows in wet soil throughout the South, its northern limits being Virginia and Kansas. Generally a shrub, it becomes a tree 30 feet high in Texas, Arkansas and Missouri. The thin brown bark is covered with warty outgrowths. Its most striking characteristic is the silvery grey bark of its twigs. The deciduous leaves are tapering at the base and blunt, often notched, at the apex. The red berries are flattened.